My wife had my initials tattooed over her heart, a constant reminder of how she held me captive.

I’d accidentally torn her silk stockings, so I’d woken up extra early to buy her favorite gourmet cinnamon rolls.

Yet she said, "Chris's birthday trip is to the Caribbean, and it's a bit risky there right now, so I have to go with him."

"But..."

Suddenly, a torrent of flashing text erupted in my mind's eye.

【Shut up, Alex! Let the toxic woman go!!】

【That 'CS' she tattooed? It stands for Chris Scott! Not Alex Chen! She never loved you!!】

【On this very day in your previous life, you knelt and begged, but couldn't keep her. After you started working at the National Catastrophe Alert Center, you predicted an avalanche would hit her hometown at eleven PM. You raced to the airport, tore up her ticket, and frantically forced her to return to save her parents. Only then did she manage to rescue them just before the avalanche struck!】

【But Chris vanished from a foreign cruise ship, his body discovered later, barely recognizable, a mere shell of what he once was!】

【A week after Chris’s disappearance, she tricked you with a fake pregnancy to join her on a cruise, then sold you overseas for a pittance. You were imprisoned, brutalized, your very being exploited until your dying breath...】

...

I froze.

1

The bullet comments continued to scroll madly, and a chilling muscle memory of my own brutal demise flooded my limbs, as if I had lived it all myself.

Just then, Elara Thorne grew impatient.

"Alex, nothing you say matters! Chris and I are going on that trip, and I won't let a single hair on his head be harmed!"

I watched her red lips move, refusing to believe. Could she truly resent me if Chris got into trouble, heartlessly push me overseas, and let me suffer a torturous death?

We both worked at the National Catastrophe Alert Center, and over time, feelings blossomed between us. It wasn't until our wedding day that Elara confessed: all these years, she had never forgotten her college sweetheart. She couldn't commit wholeheartedly to our relationship and hoped I would understand. All our family and friends were there. I didn't want to cancel the wedding, so I married her, a knot of unease twisting in my gut.

After our wedding night, she voluntarily told me she’d tattooed 'CS' – my initials, or so I thought – closest to her heart. I believed she had truly changed her mind, and I showered her with even more affection. But our blissful days didn't last long before Chris reappeared. She even brought Chris into our home, exiled me to the guest room, while they shared the master bedroom. I deeply loved this woman, forcing myself to believe their bond was purely platonic.

But the memories of my past life made it clear: I had to let go, to respect her predetermined fate. Now, given this opportunity, I wouldn't be a fool again.

"Are you deaf? Why aren't you saying anything?" Elara, seeing my lack of reaction, asked coldly.

I gazed at her, a long, deep look, then opened my work laptop, printed a stack of schematics, and thrust them into her hand.

"Elara! Willow Creek is going to be hit by a Category Five avalanche tonight at eleven! Your hometown will be devastated!"

Elara glanced cursorily at the schematics, then promptly tore them to shreds. She tossed the scraps in my face, a cold sneer twisting her lips.

"Alex, have you lost your mind? You're actually joking about an avalanche now! You're truly this desperate to stop Chris and me from going on our trip?"

I looked at her, my voice unwavering. "I'm not joking, Elara! There will be Category Eight winds today, the direct cause of this avalanche..."

As I spoke, Elara slapped me hard across the face. Her expression was already contorted, and her next words dripped with hatred.

"Shut up! Our hometown hasn't had an avalanche in centuries! We've survived Category Ten winds before without a scratch, and now a mere Category Eight wind will cause an avalanche? You're full of lies! Chris's birthday trip is happening, no matter what you say. If you really can't stand it, then we'll get a divorce when I get back."

With that, she didn't spare me another glance, dragging her suitcase behind her as she swept out the door.

2

After Elara left, I began to pack. Half an hour ago, I'd already submitted the disaster forecast report for Willow Creek to my superiors. Now, I had to drive there and pick up Elara's parents. They were still my in-laws, after all. I couldn't abandon them.

I hadn't even driven out of the complex when Director Miller called me.

"Alex," he began, "I hear you just uploaded a report?"

"Yes, Director," I replied. "Is there a problem?"

Director Miller's tone turned stern. "What do you mean, is there a problem? Alex, you've worked at our center for so many years, how can you still be so immature? How could you fabricate a disaster report just to stop Elara from having a normal social life? What you're doing is illegal!"

Elara was Director Miller's protégé; they must have just spoken. Now they both believed I was lying, putting on an act!

I immediately explained. "Director, I'm serious. Willow Creek will be hit by a Category Five avalanche tonight at eleven, absolutely! You—"

Director Miller's stance was unyielding. "Say no more. I've already taken your report down. Alex, your work ethic is highly questionable. Don't bother coming in for the next two days. Stay home and reflect on your actions. If I'd known you were so unreliable, I would never have pushed you two together in the first place!"

After a moment's hesitation, I called a higher-ranking superior. Before I could even speak, the executive began to reprimand me sternly.

"You're Alex Chen, correct? Director Miller just briefed me on your situation. And here I thought you were a dependable, capable young man. Today, you've truly opened my eyes! I believe you're no longer suited for work at our center. You should seek opportunities elsewhere!"

The line went dead, and it took me a long moment to fully process what had just happened. I couldn't believe it; just like that, I'd lost my job.

But this wasn't the time for such thoughts. It was six PM, only five hours until the avalanche. I had much more to do before then. I called Elara's parents again. Her father answered.

"What? An avalanche? Alex, you're not serious, are you? Willow Creek hasn't had an avalanche in eight hundred years! Where's Elara? Put Elara on the phone!"

I took a deep breath. "Elara went on a trip with her college friend. Dad, I'm truly not joking. Willow Creek will have an avalanche tonight at eleven PM. Willow Creek Town will be affected. You must listen to me. Please, tell Mayor Thompson about this, get everyone to evacuate as soon as possible!"

He promised, "You can trust me, Alex. This is a matter of life and death; I'll handle it!"

Two hours later, I arrived in Willow Creek Town. There were still three hours until the avalanche, but looking around, the town's main street was still bustling with people. They had absolutely no sense of impending danger! What was going on?

Time was pressing. I called her father again as I hurried towards Mayor Thompson's house. To my dismay, her father was right there at Mayor Thompson's house, and the two of them were sharing a drink.

"Dad, what are you doing? The avalanche is coming soon! Why aren't you evacuating?!" I asked frantically.

Mayor Thompson slowly eyed me, then turned to her father. "Is this your son-in-law? He looks decent enough, but his character seems… questionable. Tricking everyone with such a tale?"

Her father walked over, then lifted his leg and viciously kicked my shin. "Alex! You're an adult! How can you make up such outrageous lies? If I hadn't called Elara, I might actually have believed your nonsense and put the whole town through pointless panic! Imagine the gossip that would have spread about us!"

3

They didn't believe me either!

I opened my mouth to say something, but my phone suddenly rang. It was Elara! I answered, desperate.

"Elara, quick, tell your dad! Willow Creek is really going to have an avalanche! You need to get—"

She cut me off coldly. "Alex, have you lost your mind? Chris and I are just on a trip; why are you being so dramatic?"

Chris chimed in, fanning the flames. "Yeah, buddy," he drawled. "If you keep this up, Elara's just going to despise you even more."

Elara threatened me. "That's enough! Otherwise, I really will divorce you, and then you can prepare to leave with nothing!"

With that, she hung up.

I had put the call on speaker, to make it easier for Elara and her father to talk. Elara's father, having heard the whole exchange, glared at me. "What in the world is going on between you two? You're talking about divorce?"

I desperately wanted to explain. But this was no time for explanations. I turned to Mayor Thompson.

"Mayor Thompson, I am an engineer from the National Catastrophe Alert Center. Due to Category Eight winds, Willow Creek will experience an avalanche. I have accurately predicted it will begin at eleven PM tonight, and its danger level is Category Five. This entire area will be buried under snow. Please, you must believe me!"

The Mayor hesitated, seemingly weighing the truth of my words. But then, her father scoffed, a cold sneer on his face, and said to the Mayor, "He's no engineer anymore! My daughter already told me the Alert Center plans to fire him! Mayor Thompson, don't you dare listen to his nonsense!"

Mayor Thompson's face turned cold. He pointed to the door. "Young man, this is no place for your jokes. Please leave!"

He was kicking me out. But I knew, with grim certainty, that I couldn't leave. Only by convincing this man could the townspeople be saved. In desperation, I knelt directly before the Mayor.

"I, Alex Chen, am truly not joking! If an avalanche doesn't happen here by eleven PM tonight, then call the police, have me arrested, send me to jail! Mayor, there's not much time left until the avalanche. Please, quickly inform everyone to evacuate!"

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!" her father roared. Enraged, he lunged and delivered a powerful kick directly to my chest. I crumpled to the floor, my chest aching, making it hard to breathe. I fixated on the Mayor, my gaze unwavering.

"The avalanche is truly coming, Mayor! Can you bear the weight of hundreds of lives on your conscience?!"

The Mayor stared at me, a profound, searching look in his eyes, then finally said, "I'll trust you, this once."

Her father was dumbfounded. "No, Mayor Thompson, you can't actually believe his nonsense! He's just trying to upset my daughter, playing a dramatic game with us—"

"If the avalanche doesn't come," the Mayor said, already walking away, "then he'll go to jail!"

The Mayor said, then strode away. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stand and follow him, reminding him.

"This avalanche will affect an area of three kilometers. To be safe, everyone should evacuate to at least five kilometers away..."

The Mayor immediately began organizing people and arranging the evacuation. I turned back to find her father.

"Dad, I drove here. Please, you and Mom, come with me in my car."

He slapped me hard across the face. "I'm not going anywhere! The moment my daughter returns, I'm making sure you two get divorced! Then you can rave like a lunatic all you want! Damn it, you've completely shamed me!"

Next, the townspeople began to evacuate rapidly. In less than two hours, most of them were gone. But I was locked out of the house by Elara's parents. No matter how I pleaded, they refused to leave with me. I had no choice but to call Elara. Only she could convince her parents to evacuate.

The phone rang over a dozen times before it was finally answered. I quickly told her, "Please, just believe me this once, okay? Everyone in town has evacuated, only your parents refuse to leave. Tell them, quickly! The avalanche is only twenty minutes away, it'll be too late soon!"

From the other end of the line, I heard Chris's scornful laughter. I asked, my voice low and grim, "Where's Elara?"

He said, gloating. "She's in the shower. She already told me she doesn't want to waste her breath talking to you."

I bit back my anger. "Get her to the phone! This concerns her parents' lives!"

Chris mocked me. "Alex, are you insane? You're still trying to trick people with this avalanche lie? Do you even know what Elara and I are going to do tonight? Her soft, pliant grace, her passion... you couldn't even imagine—"

I felt utterly indifferent to his vulgar taunts. Since Elara wouldn't take the call, I resigned myself. I checked the time. Only a little over ten minutes until the avalanche. If I didn't leave now, I'd probably die here.

As for Elara's parents...

I started recording on my phone, simultaneously shouting through the door. "Mom, Dad, the avalanche is coming in ten minutes! A Category Five avalanche! The entire town of Willow Creek will be destroyed! If you don't leave now, you will truly die here..."

As I spoke, an ashtray flew out from inside the house, striking me squarely on the head. Immediately, my head exploded with pain, and a wave of intense dizziness washed over me. Elara's mother shrieked from within.

"You monster! Are you cursing us, two old people? My daughter was right, you're just a lying swindler! Are you hoping we die early so you can inherit our property? I tell you, dream on—"

I didn't listen further. I stopped the recording, then forced my battered body into the car. The blow from the ashtray was brutal; I felt like I could pass out at any moment. I slapped myself hard, forcing myself to stay conscious, then started the car and sped away from the town.

At 11 PM, a deafening rumble suddenly erupted. The night sky behind me was even obscured by the churning snow.

The avalanche had truly come.